Shukla, 18, is part of a Mahwah team that advanced to Sunday’s Bergen Meet of Champions for cross-country (the meet was moved from Saturday). He’s hoping to get under 17:50, but he and his team aren’t threats to win any serious gold.

But when Shukla crosses the finish line, expect there to be a commotion. T-Birds coach Rob Pasek will grab him and keep him moving.

At the Big North American meet earlier this month, Shukla crossed the finish line and heaved to the grass. No one was really worried.

Until they were.

It’s called"the chute," the rope line that marks the end of cross-country races at Garret Mountain and Darlington County Park.

Spend any time near the chute and you’ll see a wide range of emotions. It’s about 10 yards of total chaos. The judges are there to catch the kids, record the results and make sure everyone is OK There are the happy faces on the winner, sad faces when the time on the clock isn’t what they wanted, and sometimes elbows fly as kids come flying down desperate to edge out another runner.

Pasek knew Shukla was a "dropper." One of those runners who would go to the ground just outside the chute and gather his bearings having spent all his physical will and energy. He would drop.

And the Big North American meet was the big one for Mahwah. Shukla was determined to go all out because the T-Birds felt they could contend for the league title.

“Before the meet I had watched the movie ‘Prefontaine’ and I remember him saying 'take as much pain as you can,' that’s what was in my mind,” Shukla said. “I didn’t know how many more meets I would run, why not put in all I can?”

After the race, Pasek saw Shukla drop outside the chute and didn’t think much of it. He’d seen the routine before.

“I notice he’s not really moving that much this time and the trainer is over by him,” Pasek said. “She’s in full on panic mode.”

“My goal is not to let anyone pass me in the chute,” Shukla said after Thursday’s workout. “I sprinted the last 200 meters and went as fast as I can. After that, I remember finishing the race and handing over my tag and I don’t remember anything after that.”

Shukla, a lean 5-foot-7, 120 pounds, had his heart checked out over the summer after experiencing some chest pain during a workout, but doctors found nothing wrong.

Now Shukla’s breathing was labored, but his vital signs were fine. Then Pasek remembered, Shukla was fasting as part of the Hindu holiday Navartri (Shukla’s father Devendra is a Hindu priest). It’s a strict diet of fruits and nuts for nine days.

After a few more minutes, Shukla bounced back. He was taken in an ambulance to Valley Hospital. Pasek told him that the T-Birds had come in third as a team, but that he had set a new personal best in 17:55.

The next day, Shukla told Pasek he thought his season was over, but another doctor visit revealed the cause. Shukla was found to have vasovagal syncope. In layman’s terms, it means the body faints at the sign of great stress; sometimes it’s giving blood, sometimes it's running 3.1 miles as hard as you can.

Shukla was cleared to run and competed in the Bergen championships last Saturday. He finished in 18:01, but now he had a new routine. Pasek grabbed him as soon as he crossed the line and kept him walking.

“I actually grabbed him before the [judges] took his tag because I was nervous,” Pasek said. “Then we walked around and jogged together. Then he went off and I couldn’t see him anymore.”

“I went and did my regular cool down,” Shukla said.

“Please stay around me on Sunday,” Pasek said and laughed.

Shukla can smile about everything now. Even without this affliction, he would still be a wonderful story. He came to New Jersey from India with his family in 2012 – "March 21, 2012" he says proudly – unable to speak the language.

He played baseball, since it was the closest thing to cricket, for a while, until he got into running. And he was such a novice that at his first cross-country meet he told Pasek he would finish the course in about 15 minutes.

He’s a solid student who has volunteered at the local fire department, helps out with the Mahwah athletic trainer and likes to fly a drone. He’s thinking of attending a community college and then transferring to Rutgers.

And he’s planning on going all out on Sunday.

“When I’m running, I put everything aside and I want to have a great race,” Shukla said. “When I finish, I will remember what I have to do, but I want to have nothing left.”